On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

Yang Siyu knelt on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes, but she dared not let them fall.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The imperial physician said that your illness is caused by sudden internal heat attacking your heart. As long as you rest and take your medicine on time, you will surely recover. The Great Zhou Dynasty still needs Your Majesty to preside over the overall situation."

"Do I still have my empire?! That beast Lin Yi stole all my savings and drove me to the brink of ruin! He's probably out there laughing at me right now! You women, are you also hoping I die soon so you can run off to him?!"

Yang Siyu turned pale with fright and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, please understand! I am utterly loyal to Your Majesty and have no other intentions! I only wish to stay by Your Majesty's side and serve you!"

"Hehehe... I almost forgot. You've given birth to a fine daughter! Nangong Min is now the Regent's Consort, enjoying immense prestige! Didn't she send you a message, promising you any benefits? Hmm? Are you waiting for me to die so you can become the Empress Dowager?"

Yang Siyu trembled and shook his head frantically.

"Your Majesty, I absolutely did not! Moreover, Min'er was forced into marriage; her heart belongs only to Your Majesty! I do not wish to be an Empress Dowager; I only pray for Your Majesty's safety!"

Nangong Xiong was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

He knew, of course, that Yang Siyu was a weak woman with no opinions of her own, but he just couldn't control his temper and desperately needed an outlet. And Yang Siyu was now Lin Yi's mother-in-law, so she was undoubtedly the best punching bag.

"Get out! All of you, get out of here! I don't want to see you jinxes!" Nangong Xiong grabbed a jade pillow from the head of the bed and smashed it to pieces on the ground.

The two noblemen, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, quickly got up and ran out.

But Yang Siyu dared not leave.

Zhao Shuyu gave her a strict order: she had to stay here and take care of the sick. If she went back in such a sorry state, Zhao Shuyu would definitely not let her off the hook.

So she could only kneel amidst the shattered jade pieces, head bowed, silently weeping.

Just then, Sun Fu walked in, glanced at the mess, then at Yang Siyu kneeling beside him, and knew exactly what was going on.

His Majesty must have taken his anger out on her again.

That incompetent old man takes his anger out on his wife; he's not even as good as me, a eunuch.

"This old servant greets Your Majesty."

When Nangong Xiong saw him, his anger subsided slightly.

"How's it going outside?" Nangong Xiong asked, then started coughing again.

Sun Fu quickly stepped forward to pat Nangong Xiong on the back and said softly, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health! The Prime Minister is running around trying to contact those officials whose homes were not confiscated, hoping to raise some more money. However... everyone is now on edge, and it seems difficult to raise the money."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Xiong's eyes dimmed instantly, and he slumped against the headboard.

"It's over...it's all over...without money, who will risk their life for me..."

Seeing that the time was right, Sun Fu took out the letter from his pocket and held it above his head with both hands.

"Your Majesty, a letter was just delivered from outside the palace. It was sent by Lin Yi."

"Lin Yi?!"

Upon hearing this name, Nangong Xiong nearly jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on.

"That beast still has the nerve to send me a letter!" He lost control of his emotions instantly and tried to grab the letter from Sun Fu's hand, but because he used too much force, a sharp pain came from his chest, and then with a "plop," he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"puff!"

"Your Majesty!" Yang Siyu was terrified and quickly stepped forward to wipe away the blood.

However, Nangong Xiong pushed her away, staring at the letter in Sun Fu's hand: "Read it! Read it to me! I want to hear what other nonsense this traitor can spout!"

Sun Fu knelt on the ground and swallowed hard.

He knew what was about to happen would cause a major upheaval, but he had to read it aloud.

He slowly unfolded the sheet of Xuan paper, cleared his throat, and tried to make his voice sound calm and emotionless.

"The Regent's letter said... that Her Highness the Eldest Princess misses the Imperial Concubine very much while she is in the palace, and wishes that the Imperial Concubine may leave the palace for a few days to ease her longing."

Nangong Xiong was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then turned and glared at Yang Siyu.

The latter was so frightened that he shook his head repeatedly, indicating that he knew nothing.

Nangong Xiong sneered, "Ha, what does Yang Siyu have to offer in exchange for leaving the palace?"

Nangong Xiong is an extremely pragmatic, even somewhat mercenary, person.

In his eyes, anyone and anything is a bargaining chip.

Although Yang Siyu is a concubine, given the current situation, keeping her around is only a waste of food and serves no great purpose.

If Lin Yi were willing to pay a high price, such as returning a portion of the military expenses or lifting the blockade of supplies to the palace, he wouldn't necessarily hesitate to consider it.

"Tell me! What conditions did he offer?"

Sun Fu lowered his head and said, "The Regent said... to give him fifty pigs."

"What?"

Yang Siyu knelt on the ground, stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

Fifty pigs? Her own son-in-law actually wanted to exchange fifty pigs for her?

Is this saving her or humiliating her?

"What...what did you say?" Nangong Xiong thought he had misheard or was hallucinating, and even picked at his ear.

Sun Fu braced himself and repeated, "The Regent said that fifty pigs would be used to exchange for the Imperial Concubine's departure from the palace."

"ah!!!"

Nangong Xiong let out a fierce roar, then, like a madman, threw off the covers, got out of bed barefoot, snatched the letter from Sun Fu's hand, tore it to shreds in a few quick movements, and then threw the pieces of paper hard at Sun Fu's face.

"Fifty pigs! Fifty pigs!!! What does Lin Yi take me for! A butcher?! My woman, the dignified Imperial Consort of the Great Zhou Dynasty, is she only worth fifty pigs?! He is humiliating me!"

Nangong Xiong wandered around the hall like a headless fly, smashing whatever he saw.

He swept the teacups, vases, and incense burners all onto the floor.

"He stole three million taels of silver from me! Now he's trying to disgust me with fifty pigs! Why doesn't he just give me fifty chickens in exchange! Beast! He's an absolute beast!"

Enraged, Nangong Xiong kicked over the charcoal brazier.

The flying ash made him cough repeatedly.

"I won't trade! I'd rather starve to death, or kill Yang Siyu and feed him to the dogs, than suffer this humiliation! Fifty pigs... fifty pigs... does he think I'm a beggar?!"

Yang Siyu knelt in the corner, covering her mouth and weeping silently.

Even she herself felt that her dignity had been trampled on.

Fifty pigs—that was her value in the eyes of the emperor and the regent.

Sun Fu remained kneeling on the ground, letting Nangong Xiong vent his anger.

There's no point in saying anything now; we have to wait for Nangong Xiong to unleash his anger before we can proceed with the next step of negotiations.

When Nangong Xiong was exhausted from smashing and cursing, and was panting heavily while leaning against a pillar, Sun Fu crawled forward on his knees and cautiously began to speak.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger and take care of your health. The Regent's actions are indeed too outrageous. But... but this old servant dares to say something, though I don't know if I should."

Nangong Xiong glared at him fiercely: "Spit it out!"